Office of Naval Intelligence
Seal of the Office of Naval Intelligence
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | March 23, 1882 |
| Headquarters | National Maritime Intelligence Center, Suitland, Maryland |
| Employees | c. 3,000 (civilian and military) |
| Annual budget | Classified |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency |
 United States Navy
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| Website | Official Webpage |
The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, ONI is the oldest member of the United States Intelligence Community and serves as the nation's premier source of maritime intelligence. Since the First World War, its mission has broadened to include real-time reporting on the developments and activities of foreign navies; protecting maritime resources and interests; monitoring and countering transnational maritime threats; providing technical, operational, and tactical support to the U.S. Navy and its partners; and surveying the global maritime environment. ONI employs over 3,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide and is headquartered at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland.
Despite playing an active and decisive role in the American Civil War, in the following years the U.S. Navy fell into precipitous decline. A lack of both federal funding and public interest reduced the Navy's size, prestige, and technological superiority; whereas steel ships were increasingly the norm, the U.S. Navy was entirely wood-based. Towards the end of the 19th century, American naval power had become vastly obsolete compared to Europe, and even lagged behind the navies of less developed nations such as Ottoman Turkey and Chile.
In an era of rapid industrialization, globalized commerce, and colonial expansion, the prevailing military theory of the time held that navies were critical to the commercial and strategic interests of a nation, as well as a source of national prestige and power projection. In light of these developments, American naval officers and military strategists advocated for a larger and more technologically advanced navy that could protect the U.S.' vast maritime borders, safeguard its commercial interests, and project power abroad. Among the leading reformers was Navy Lieutenant Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason, who called for the creation of a naval intelligence office dedicated to gathering information on foreign navies and the latest in naval science to help rebuild the U.S. Navy.
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